Not long after I blogged about my new writing process, I ran into a change.
I had trouble getting traction with a prompt. That’s happened before, but, it was taking longer than usual.
Author: Glenn
bookmark_borderDrafting fiction, like a college essay
At university, I used a simple method for writing essays:
- Research/analyze, and make notes
- Outline, by arranging the notes into a logical order
- Write
bookmark_border*hitty First Draft
There is a theory, championed by Anne Lamott and others, that you focus on getting a first draft on paper. Power through, don’t worry about quality of the prose or grammar or cohesion; just git ‘r done.
bookmark_borderThe Final Note: Why Writing the End of a Story is Harder Than You Think
Writing a satisfying ending is not easy. Sometimes you just feel it, put it down on paper, and then ‘ahh’, yes, that’s right. More often, for me, it turns out to be more difficult to find the ending than it was to create the germ of idea of what to write about.
Continue reading “The Final Note: Why Writing the End of a Story is Harder Than You Think”
bookmark_borderWhat is Your Story Really About?
How do you take a scene or character and turn it into a short story?
A dozen years ago I decided to improve my prose. I started writing shorter pieces because that would allow me to stop and edit and polish and then quickly start again on something new. But in the process, I discovered that it’s not easy for me—a novel reader, primarily—to find the meaning or point of a short story. I have pieces that seem to have legs but they don’t always lead somewhere satisfying.
bookmark_borderThe Long Goodbye: Using ChatGPT to Transition from a Two-Decade-Old Email Address
I’ve had the same personal email address for twenty years. It’s a great address that I grabbed when our service provider first started its own email service.
Continue reading “The Long Goodbye: Using ChatGPT to Transition from a Two-Decade-Old Email Address”
bookmark_borderWater for TsaTsa
My novella, “Water for TsaTsa” is now published and available, in the Rise Novella Anthology!
bookmark_borderOn: Writing Personal Essays
I’ve always done some personal writing. Blog entries are one type—early ones that were collecting poker learnings and hand analysis, now fiction writing learnings and analysis—and all the way back to when I kept a personal journal as a college student.
bookmark_borderWriting Backwards
I’m writing backwards.
I’ve tried something similar before, starting from an event, treating it as the effect and then looking for potential causes. And following that with the cause for that cause, and a cause for that cause, and so on.
bookmark_borderFinding books to read
I have difficulty finding books to read using our library’s online system. If you know the author or the title it works great, but when you are searching for good novels across various genres written by authors that you have not previously read and only in ebook form and available right now, it’s not as helpful.